


Dream Catcher

by Evie_adams273



Category: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - Thorne & Rowling
Genre: Calista is very concerned, Gen, Husbands, M/M, Scorbus, Scorbus are married, Scorbus have a daughter, Some angst, Surprisingly Fluffy, This is really cute, aftermath of nightmare, fun fun fun, her name is Calista, if I ever actually write that, perfect for each other, possibly part of a series, scorpius has a nightmare
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-21
Updated: 2020-04-21
Packaged: 2021-03-01 19:00:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,796
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23731975
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Evie_adams273/pseuds/Evie_adams273
Summary: Scorpius has a nightmare that has become such a regular occurrence that he knows it's happening.
Relationships: Scorpius Malfoy & Albus Severus Potter & Original Character(s), Scorpius Malfoy/Albus Severus Potter
Kudos: 36





	Dream Catcher

**Author's Note:**

> No trigger warning but just a little character note: Calista is Scorbus' daughter.

Scorpius is almost aware that he’s dreaming. He knows it’s not real. He’s learnt to see the difference between dreams and reality. But he can’t wake up. He can’t stop the images flashing through his head, one after the other.

He hates it. All of it. The nightmares are somehow worse now that they’re less frequent. Sleeping through the night is obviously better, but when he does have a nightmare, he gets badly thrown off for a few days. He just isn’t used to it anymore.

Maybe, he’ll get back to sleep tonight. On the occasions where he doesn’t, he struggles with work. Which makes the job much more difficult. Healing isn’t one you can get wrong. And most of the time, it’s all completely fine. But it’ll be better if he can get back to sleep.

Once he wakes up.

He thrashes around, trying to scream for help. Inside or outside of the dream. He just needs it to stop. He needs to stop seeing Albus hurting, Albus in pain. Albus trying to reach their daughter, and failing, because there’s something bigger at play.

The change in his nightmares shouldn’t have surprised Scorpius, but it does. His first nightmare after they adopted Calista came four weeks later. And all his mind focussed on is the fact that Calista is now at a higher risk than she had been before, even though she’s in a safe, stable home.

She is happier. But the chances of that ending are also higher. Simply because she has been adopted by a Malfoy and a Potter.

So far, nothing has happened. But Scorpius hates the fact that it is a thought when they are out in public. He hates the fact that it’s made it into his nightmares. He hates the fact that, fifteen years on, he can’t dispel the paranoia that exists within his mind.

Scorpius can feel the tears running down his cheeks as he faces her, fully aware of what comes next in his dreams. It’s the same every time.

Pain. The pain that turns him into a creature, willing to do anything to stop it. The pain that raises the Scorpion King within him. The pain that causes Albus to end up in the firing line. His firing line.

Scorpius screams again, tearing his way back to consciousness. He sits up, untangling himself from the mass of sheets around him. He glances at Albus, smiling when he sees his husband is still asleep.

Scorpius swings his legs off the bed, pausing for a moment to take in air before he stands up and starts to pace. Sometimes it helps. Helps to relieve some of the stress building up in his muscles. Sometimes, he’s too exhausted, and his legs feel uncomfortably numb, before giving out beneath him.

Tonight is one of the latter nights. Scorpius is halfway across the room when he collapses onto the carpet, grimacing in pain. He tries not to make any noise. Albus needs to sleep. He looks peaceful. Scorpius doesn’t want to disturb that.

So he keeps himself still, waiting for his legs to uncramp so that he can creep back into bed and try get back to sleep. But even as he waits, as he assumes he’s calm, his eyes start to fill with tears. He doesn’t know why. He can’t stop them. So they just fall and he just sobs into his arms, eventually taking off his shirt to bury his face in it and muffle the noise.

He glances up as the bed creaks slightly and Albus slides down onto the floor beside him. Scorpius looks away.

“Nightmare?”

Scorpius nods. He’s just about managing to hold back the tears, but they’re going to overflow properly soon. He feels bad about waking Albus. He doesn’t want to keep him awake for longer than he needs to.

“We should sleep,” he croaks, trying to stand up.

He slips, grimacing in pain, and Albus takes his hands.

“We’ve talked about this,” he murmurs.

Scorpius smiles slightly, despite everything. It is testament to how well Albus knows him that he hasn’t even said anything of real significance and Albus knows what’s going on inside his head. And he’s right. They have talked about it. Scorpius knows he needs to continue to talk about the things inside his head. Bottling it up has never helped. 

“Just the normal,” Scorpius mutters. “Scared of you getting hurt. And Calista. Scared it’ll be my fault. Tried to pace. Legs – cramped up again.” Silence. “It’s the same night every other month. It’s practically predictable at this point. Why don’t I just try and pull an all-nighter once every other month.”

Albus doesn’t respond, but Scorpius knows what he’s thinking. Albus knows that he’s joking. And Scorpius knows that he’s still concerned. Scorpius leans his head against his husband’s shoulder, starting to let the tears flow. Albus is safe, will keep him safe. 

“I want to keep her safe,” Scorpius whispers. “But we’re us. One day we’re not going to be able to protect her.”

“But we’ll still be there,” Albus says firmly, “for her to fall back on.”

“It’s not enough…”

“She’ll grow. She’ll grow up. That’s how life works. And yes, maybe people will give her grief because of us. But she will be okay. And we can make sure of that.”

Scorpius nods, smiling softly at Albus. Albus wipes away his tears with his pyjama shirt, and then he stands, going to open Scorpius’ drawer and pulling out another shirt for him.

“I’m the Healer,” Scorpius murmurs, “and yet you’re the one who’s going to insist I don’t sleep in a damp shirt.”

“Because you’ll get ill.”

Albus rolls his eyes, passing Scorpius the shirt. Scorpius pulls it on, taking Albus’ hand once it’s on. He’s about to try and stand when there is a knock on the door. It opens. Calista stands in the doorway, clutching her blanket and looking at them. 

“Calista?” Scorpius frowns. “It’s the middle of the night.”

“I couldn’t sleep,” Calista mumbles, staring at the floor. “And I heard crying. I got scared.”

“That was me. It’s okay. Do you want one of us to come back with you?”

“Why are you crying?”

“I had a bad dream. Nothing to worry about.”

Scorpius knows that being this happy-go-lucky isn’t always a good idea, but he doesn’t want to scare his daughter. She’s seven. She doesn’t need to know about the evil that exists within the world.

Sometimes Scorpius wonders if that’s the best tactic to follow, but he knows how much he misses his innocence. All of his own disappeared when he found out his mum was going to die. Allowing Calista to believe that things are really okay in the world, even if it is only for a little longer, makes it slightly easier to combat the fear.

He looks back at Calista, trying to work out what’s wrong when her expression grows completely terrified.

“Do nightmares stop you sleeping?”

Scorpius looks at Albus and their eyes meet. Albus shakes his head slightly, but Scorpius softens. This isn’t the best time to have this sort of conversation, but it is a conversation that will have to happen one day. Maybe it’s easiest to have when they are already halfway there.

“Can you help me back onto the bed?” Scorpius murmurs, going to wrap his arm around Albus’ shoulders.

Albus lets him, helping him to his feet and supporting his weight when his legs shake violently. He looks back at Calista, who is watching is pure horror, and he beckons her over.

One more silent conversation with Albus prompts Albus to sit, leaving enough space for Calista to settle between the two of them. She snuggles up to Scorpius, wrapping her arms around him more tightly than she usually does and he strokes her hair. .

“A really long time ago,” he starts softly, “your dad and I got caught up in something bad.”

Calista tenses and Scorpius sits up properly, allowing her to resettle in his lap and wrap her arms around his neck. Albus sits behind Scorpius, leaning his head on his shoulder. 

“It’s okay,” Scorpius continues. “The person who hurt us got caught and everything has been completely okay since.”

“But you’re having nightmares…”

“Your dad and I still have nightmares sometimes,” Scorpius nods, “because it’s not just stuff you can leave behind. But we’re okay. We’re safe. No one is going to hurt us now, and if they try, well, we can just fight them.”

“I thought you said we shouldn’t hurt people.”

“You shouldn’t,” Albus takes Calista’s hands, “but if someone is trying to hurt you, the rules change a bit.”

“But no one is going to hurt you,” Scorpius smiles, rolling his eyes slightly at his husband. “And if they try, we won’t let them.”

Calista nods, smiling back at her dad. She stops hugging him, instead going back to snuggling up against him, and he smiles.

“Do your bad dreams happen all the time?”

“No. I used to get them more. We both did. But we don’t get them very often now.”

“Well, I’m going to keep you safe.”

“It’s okay,” Albus chuckled. “That’s my job. And he keeps me to safe.”

“I want to keep the nightmares away. So daddy can sleep properly.”

Scorpius looks at her. “You should be going back to bed.”

“Can I stay here?”

“Calista.”

“Please,” she smiles softly. “Just tonight. To keep the nightmares away.”

Scorpius glances at Albus, and he nods. Scorpius rolls his eyes slightly, and then he looks at his daughter again.

“Only for tonight,” he says. “This can’t happen every time I have a nightmare.”

“I know,” Calista nods. “I’m going to make you something tomorrow so that I don’t have to. It’ll keep all the nasty dreams away.”

“Well,” Albus moves back to where he sleeps, “that sounds like a wonderful idea. But for now, we all need to go to sleep.”

Scorpius lies down again, leaving room between him and Albus for Calista to lie down in. She puts an arm around both of them, burying her head in his shoulder. Albus takes his hand, squeezing it reassuringly, and Scorpius smiles at him before closing his eyes.

Within a few minutes, Calista is asleep again, and Scorpius catches Albus’ eye, smiling. Albus smiles back, closing his eyes again. Scorpius waits for him to fall asleep before he closes his eyes again. If he wakes up again, he wants to give them as long asleep as possible. But he will try and go to sleep again, because he knows he needs to get some more sleep.

So he closes his eyes and takes deep breath. And when he falls asleep again, he doesn’t dream.

**Author's Note:**

> Can't remember where this came from or why I wrote it but have it anyway. Calista might be in a multichapter one day if I get my arse in gear.   
> Thanks for reading  
> Kudos and comments always appreciated.  
> Twitter: @evie_adams273


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